FRANKFURT -- Europe's biggest carmaker, Volkswagen (IW 1000/10), inaugurated on Tuesday a new engine production site in Silao, Mexico, its 100th manufacturing site worldwide.

The site, which represents an overall investment of $550 million is designed to build up to 330,000 engines annually and will create "over 700 new jobs in the medium term," VW said.

"The Silao factory... represents one of the largest and most international production networks in the automotive industry," boasted chief executive Martin Winterkorn.

"With this new plant we are driving our ambitious major North American offensive forward. Over the next three years the Volkswagen group will be investing more than $5 billion in North America alone," he said.